Billfold and coin purse



April 16, 1957 D. J. BROUGHTON 2,788,824

BILLFOLD AND com PURSE Fil ed July 28, 1954 Fig.1

BY WJM ATTORNEYS.

l pus s4 United States Patent BILLFOLD AND COIN PURSE Douglas J. Broughton, Springfield, Mass, assignor to Buxton, Incorporated, Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 28, 1954, Serial No. 446,284

2 Claims. Cl. 150-35 This invention relates to an improvement in billfold and purse combinations of the type in which bills in the bill compartment are accessible from the coin compartment.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a combination of the above character in which the elements are so formed and arranged that the bulk of the container as a whole is materially reduced, and such that a greater number of bills and coins can be accommodated without excessive bulking or distortion of the contamer-giving increased utility with a neater appearance.

A further object is to provide a construction and arrangement which permits the use of a wide range of materials.

Other and further objects will be made apparent in the disclosure of the accompanying drawing and in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a combination purse and billfold embodying the invention with purse and billfold closed;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the billfold open, parts being broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially on line 3--3 but with the purse open.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the outer wall of the billfold, and 2 the inner wall of the billfold which comprises spaced panel members 3 and 4 and a bridging member 5 which may be formed of thin leather or fabric.

Panel member 4 may be formed as an extension from a longitudinal edge of wall 1 and folded at 6 to close the lower portion of one side of the billfold, the adjacent end of the billfold being closed by a flap 7 extending from the end of wall 1 and folded over the adjacent edge of panel 4 and interlocked thereto as at 8. The side edges of panels 3 and 4 at the open side of the billfold are folded inwardly over the adjacent edges of member 5 as indicated at 9 to provide a finished edge and the free edge of wall 1 may be folded on itself as at 10 for a similar purpose.

Positioned between the wall members 1 and 2 at the ends opposite flap 7 is a purse member formed of opposed walls 11 and 12 which may be lined with fabric as at 13. Wall members 11 and 12 are stitched together as at 14 to close the bottom of the purse.

The adjacent end edges of walls 1 and 11 and the adjacent end edges of walls 2 and 12 are secured together by clamping in the channel of the cross members 15 of a conventional, so-called french-purse frame closure, in the usual manner of attaching such frames, the members 15 being provided with the usual interengageable members 15' for releasably holding the purse closed. The

sides of the purse walls 11 and 12 are connected by opposed triangular gusset pieces, one of which is shown at 16. The upper edges of the gussets 16 are clamped in the usual manner to the arms 17 of the purse frame which 2,788,824 Patented Apr. 16, 1957 See are pivoted together at 18. The sides of the gusset members are respectively stitched or otherwise secured to the adjacent edges of the purse walls 12 and 11 to complete the purse compartment. Along the closed side of the bill compartment, that is the side which includes the fold 6, the edge of panel 3 is folded inwardly as at 19 to be included in the stitching 20 which secures the adjacent gusset edge to the purse wall 12 and its fabric.

lining 13, and similarly the corresponding edge portion of wall 1 is secured to the adjacent edges of the gusset and purse wall 11. Thus one side of the bill compartment is closed except at the space between panels 3 and 4 which constitutes the folding zone of the billfold and is bridged by member 5.

In effect the purse is suspended between the walls of the bill compartment at one end thereof. Preferably an apron or tongue member 21, connected to the bottom seam of the purse, but free of connection to the walls of the billfold, extends toward the opposite end of the billfold dividing the bill compartment into two subcompartments 22 and 23. Preferably and as shown apron 21 is formed as an integral extension of one of the purse walls, as 12.

At least one of the walls of the purse, preferably that wall adjacent the inner wall 2 of the billfold, is provided with a cut or cuts 24 which provide an opening 25 through which bills in compartment 22 are accessible from the interior of the purse.

Conveniently a relatively large number of bills of small denomination may be carried in compartment 22 and a few bills of larger denomination may be carried in compartment 23. Thus when the billfold is closed as in Fig. l the greater bulk of the small bills are folded only around the edge of panel 3 facilitating their withdrawal through opening 25 when the purse is open and the billfold is closed, only the bills in compartment 23 being folded about the purse and its contents. As a result the bulk of the bills fold flatly, presenting a minimum bulk and they are protected by apron 21 from any distortion of the bills in compartment 23 due to folding about the bulk of coins in the purse. The freedom of apron 21 to adjust itself to a loaded condition of the bill compartment or the coin compartment further facilitates removal of the bills through opening 25 and also preserves the shape and functioning of the billfold and purse as a whole even when the coin and bill compartments are loaded to a capacity beyond which conventional structures cease to function satisfactorily.

Preferably, and as shown, a flap 26 is secured to the.

' gaged to hold the billfold closed, the bills in compartment 22 being accessible through the purse without opening the billfold.

It will be understood that the arrangement above described is not limited to a frame closure for the purse but other forms of closures such as zippers or flaps with snap fasteners may be employed as desired.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combined purse and billfold, a purse comprising side wall members joined together to form the bottom of the purse, and triangular gusset members respectively connecting the opposite side edges of said members to form the end walls of the purse, a bill compartment formed by two elongated wall members positioned at opposite sides of the purse and respectively connected along one end edge to the free edge of the adjacent side walls of the purse to close one end of the bill compartment,

a the other ends of the elongated members being connected together to close the'other end 'o'f'the billcompartnient; portions of one side edge of the elongated wall members 7 being connected together and other portions thereofbeing connectedl'to. theadjacentside. edge of the adjacent purse 5 wall to close the bill compartment alongone side, the unattached. side edges providing an entrance for the insertion of bills, the purse partitioning one end ofthe bill compartment. intojtwo portions, at least one side Wall of the purse,being provided..with an opening afiording access to the/ends of they bills in the portion of the bill compartment onith'at side 'ofthelpurse; andmeans'secured References Cited-in the file-of this patent UNITED: STATES PAT 2,520,465 Koch Aug. 29, 1950 

